His Relentless Possession

40-Meeting An Heiress

"So, how do you know Raiden?" Josh asked, trying to make light conversation with me.

Unknowingly, he was causing both Raiden and me a lot of discomfort. I glanced over at Raiden, silently pleading with him to answer the question. I bet Raiden had decided not to tell anyone about our strange living arrangement and relationship. Honestly, even I had decided not to tell anyone about our bizarre situation.

"She's just a girl that I know..." Raiden replied vaguely.

"Oh yeah?" Josh said, clearly dissatisfied with Raiden's vague answer.

Thankfully, Josh didn't push the topic further and instead switched to asking me random questions about myself, like what I had been up to lately. He showed genuine interest when I told him I was studying art. Overall, Josh and I seemed to get along just fine. He was a very sociable person.

"Do you have a good memory by any chance?" Josh asked suddenly.

"I guess my memory is decent..." I replied, a little surprised by his seemingly random question.

"Good... read and remember this," Josh said, taking a small piece of paper from his shirt pocket and handing it to me.

I looked down at the paper in my hand and realized it was a mini factsheet about Josh. Details like his birthday, favorite food, and favorite color were listed there.

"I see..." I muttered.

I guess I need to learn this in case I get asked any of these questions. Finding the situation amusing, I began to chuckle softly.

"I see why you think this is funny," Josh said with a smirk.

"Do you really think she might ask these questions?" I asked.

"You never know... I just hope these are the only questions she asks..." Josh muttered under his breath as if talking to himself.

I couldn't help but notice how different he was from his best friend, Raiden. I wondered how these two became close despite being polar opposites. The more I chatted with Josh, the more I relaxed, and I began to enjoy his company.

Reflecting on Josh's situation made me realize his predicament wasn't that different from mine and Raiden's. I guess wealthy parents had a knack for arranging marriages for their children. The big difference was that I owed Raiden's father a huge debt, while the other girl in question was a rich heiress in her own right. I could understand him a bit better now.

I studied the paper and committed the details to memory as best I could.

"Miss Janine is here," a bodyguard announced as he entered.

At his notice, I sat up straight and alert on the sofa. Janine is here! Switch to fake girlfriend mode now! What am I supposed to do?

Josh sighed loudly, clearly dreading this moment even more than I was. Slowly, as if his body weighed a ton, Josh got up from the sofa and extended a hand toward me.

"Let's go face our princess..." Josh said, beckoning me to take his hand.

Although confused, I took his hand, and he pulled me firmly to my feet. I guess we weren't meeting this Janine person here in the private lounge after all.

"We're not meeting her here?" I asked.

"No... we'll meet her in another room. This private lounge is usually reserved for Raiden, me, and a couple of our other friends," Josh explained as he headed for the door.

I glanced over at Raiden, who was still seated. Was he seriously going to let me go with Josh alone? How heartless could this guy be? However, just as I reached the door, Raiden sighed loudly and stood up from the sofa. I turned to look at him in amazement. For some reason, I felt more reassured now that Raiden was coming with us.

"What are you looking at?" Raiden asked as he walked past me and out the door.

For the life of me, I could never figure out what Raiden was thinking. I shook my head to clear my thoughts before following the two men out the door. We followed Josh through the throng of people enjoying themselves. Dancing and networking seemed to be the main activities of this party.

Josh greeted and was greeted by many people along our walk. Raiden was also acknowledged by several guests, but he only responded with a brief wave of his hand. We arrived at our destination much faster than I had expected.

Now, standing in front of the door to the lounge where Janine was waiting, I felt extremely nervous. My palms began to sweat.

"You don't have to do anything... just hook your arm with mine and sit by my side, okay?" Josh said, offering me a reassuring smile.

Josh took my left hand and placed it on the crook of his arm. I glanced nervously at Raiden, only to see his expressionless face staring back at me. His light blue eyes were completely void of emotion.

The next moment, I heard the door open, and Josh led me into the room.

This is it...

"Josh... and Raiden."

A woman with beautiful sun-kissed skin and long auburn hair greeted Josh and Raiden as we entered the room. She obviously knew them both. After a moment, her sharp eyes narrowed at me, clearly registering my presence and how I was holding onto Josh's arm. However, she didn't say anything to me, and perhaps that silence said it all.

"It's good to see you again," Josh said, sounding very diplomatic.

The smile on Janine's plump lips faded, and the tension in the room rose exponentially. I tightened my grip on Josh's arm as my nervousness returned. Janine's presence was somehow very intimidating. I wasn't sure if it was her striking beauty or the way she carried herself, but something about her felt like serious business.

--To be continued...
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